As a young adult, I had very little desire to be a mother and start a family. My focus was college and my impending career. It wasn’t until I met this guy who gave me hope for a real future, a family. After a year of dating, we got married. After a year, I realized that we weren’t getting pregnant and started my research. It was during that process that I found out that there could be something wrong.

Jarrin and I began seeking treatments from urologist, endocrinologist, and fertility specialists. Over the course of 5 years we tried different medications and multiple IUIs which were all failed attempts. Every month there was a negative pregnancy test which drove me deeper and deeper into depression. My insurance offered a bit of financial assistance but we still began racking up tons of fees. Jarrin and I decided to take a break from the journey to give our hearts and minds a break.

After 5 years, we decided to take a chance with IVF. In our orientation we met a beautiful couple who had to put the entire cost of treatment and medication on a credit card. My first thought was “it’s awesome that they could secure a credit card for such a large amount.” My next thought was “the amount of pressure and angst they must feel carrying this huge financial burden along with the uncertainty of IVF must be overwhelming.”

It was then that I knew that I wanted to be a part of the solution or at very minimum, a part of the conversation that incites change. Thankfully, both of our IVF cycles worked on the first round and we had beautiful daughters with embryos left over. Jarrin and I waited about 6 more years to do a frozen egg transfer with one of the embryos from our IVF cycle.

We had to pay out of pocket for the treatment, labs, medication, even syringes. We had to pull the money from our savings but in our minds the timing was right and it was totally worth it. We did the transfer, got a positive pregnancy test, and allowed ourselves to get excited. I mean, two successful transfers on the first cycle! Weeks went by and we found out that our baby didn’t have a heartbeat. At the very time that I was going through the frozen embryo transfer was the inception of Grace Infertility Foundation. After my miscarriage, I couldn’t bear to do the work for Grace Infertility Foundation. My heart was broken and for 2 years I have been trying to start this organization.

I’m finally in a place where my hurt is what is fueling my passion. I have a passion to help as many families as I can with their journey to parenthood through Grace Infertility Foundation. I don’t know if my fertility journey is over, but my desire is to be grateful for the daughter that I was blessed with through a successful IVF treatments and to put my all into making Grace Infertility Foundation an organization that educates, provides resources, and gives grants to families and individuals who are on their own journey to parenthood.